Iridescent
by PlaguingYourDreams
Summary: She hated him, she loved him. He taught her, he protected her- from the city, and from herself. He kept her, she fought him, all the while finding new angles to cut him with. Rated M for language and suggestive themes.


**Hey guys! I wanted to forgo the AN, but I felt it was necessary to insert one to clear up any confusion that might come up throughout the story. First I would like to state that this was originally going to be either a one or two-shot. I didn't want to make this long and drawn out, but it's difficult for me to sit for a long time, continuously writing one chapter. I need to be able to have a break in-between. I've had this story partially written for some time, but could never actually make myself upload it. I've always been drawn to darker, almost tragic types of literature, and I've never actually written anything quite like this before, so please excuse my timidness, haha. **

**This will be the only real author's note I'll post, aside from any questions I'll answer, but if you have an account with , I'll probably just inbox you.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of this, except Danielle.**

**Enjoy!**

***/*/*/***

Gotham was cancer.

The whole city.

All of it.

It ruined itself, consumed itself, damned itself, and now Dani was paying for it. They were paying for it.

She wasn't dying, but she was. Her insides crumbled, her blood felt like acid running through frayed veins, her eyes were glassy, and her mind was decaying.

She blamed him, had hated him. She had cursed his name, even after he was gone. Even after he left her-after he sacrificed himself for a woman who didn't deserve it.

That woman ruined him, consumed him, damned him, and now Dani was paying for it.

She had been dying, but she wasn't. He saved her.

*/*/*

(_Some Months Earlier)_

It was cold.

And her hands _hurt_.

Dani rubbed at them, which were numb and partially rubbed raw, attempting to fight off the ache that settled within her joints. She'd always had a slight struggle with arthritis, her neck and shoulders especially, but she shoved all thought of the pain aside until it faded into a dull throb. Exhaling shakily into her palms, she carefully slipped her gloves back on, she tilted her head back slightly, until it met the greasy alley wall. The snow she was sitting in was dampening her jeans and stung the back of her thighs.

Three months. Three months of this masked terrorist, no Batman, and Gotham was reduced to a heaping pile of absolute shit. _Not that it wasn't already_, Dani corrected mentally. She'd already been use to darting in and out of alleys, stealing food, clothes, and finding shelter in hostile places. That was the norm. What wasn't normal, however, was the amount of criminals prowling the streets of Gotham 24/7, making it nearly impossible for Dani to return to her meager shack she'd been forced to reside in.

She'd been sitting there for almost an hour, and almost everyone had gone to City Hall to view as spectators to the courts, so it was safe to assume she could move freely. But she couldn't will herself to move. Instead, she pulled off her glove again, and let her hand travel to the nape of her neck underneath the mass of blonde hair, and let her cold finger brush over the pink, slightly puckered scar.

"_Alice, won't you join me for tea?"_

"_You look so lovely today."_

"_Why are you crying, dear? Aren't you having fun, Alice?"_

"_YOUR NAME IS ALICE! NOT DANIELLE!"_

"_I'm so sorry, Alice. I..I didn't mean to hurt you. Shh, shh, there, there…"_

Remembering the smell of his sweat made her want to vomit. Remembering the syrupy sweetness of his voice made her want to push her palms to her ears. Remembering the crazed look in his eyes and seeing her reflection in his glassy, dilated pupils; seeing her own wide, terrified eyes in his, made her want to claw her own eyes out.

She had only been fourteen at the time.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she rested her forehead on her knees and willed herself to forget the memories. She willed herself to forget her name was ever Danielle.

She was just Dani.

*/*/*/*

Strange, rhythmic noises pulled her from dozing.

Lifting her head slightly and peaking out from a curtain on blonde hair, Dani glanced around nervously. It was fairly dark out, indicating that now would probably be the best time to leave, and her thighs and behind were almost completely numb, leading her to believe that she'd been there for quite some time. Sniffing slightly, she wiped her running nose on the back of her sleeve and rubbed the tops of her thighs, kneading them painfully in hope to restore feeling into her legs, which were throbbing back in reply.

Glancing around, Dani spotted another person in the alley-male-who was bundled tightly to keep warm. His face was wrapped in a dirty wool scarf, so all she could really see were his eyes, which were closed, and his breathing was deep in even, obviously asleep. She tensed slightly, knowing immediately that he had not been there before she dozed off, but relaxed as she did a quick self-inspection. Nothing seemed out of place. Glancing back at the bulky, hunching mass, she quickly figured out that the strange, rhythmic noises were coming from him, as if he was having trouble breathing.

Not her problem.

As quietly as possible, she used the grimey wall behind her for support in an attempt to stand, but slumped down quickly when sharp pains shot up her legs.

"Fuck," she hissed.

"Such vulgar language coming from someone so young."

Dani froze and quickly glanced back at the man, who was most certainly _not _asleep, but staring curiously at her attempts to rise. His grey eyes shone in the street light, and as he finished speaking, she caught his strange accent, which was seemingly British, but with the way he pronounced certain letters and the way his tongue seemed to have a slight lilt on certain syllables, it could have been mixed with a number of things.

Cocking a delicate eyebrow, she replied with: "We're sitting in a filthy alley, and there are murderers and rapists and thieves crawling all over the place. Don't condescend me about my 'language'."

Releasing an airy laugh, he said, "Fair enough."

Examining him warily, she asked, "What are you doing here, anyway?"

He tilted his head. "Resting."

Dani rolled her eyes. "Obviously. But why here?"

"Well, why are _you _here?"

Her lips thinned and irritation quickly rose. "I asked first." _This asshole's gonna get decked._

Of course that thought was ridiculous. Though she couldn't make out much more than the steely-greyness of his eyes, it was obvious that this man was _built. _She couldn't quite tell if it was more weight than muscle, or vice-versa, but Dani knew that either way, that this guy could lay her out flat, no problem.

But, that _was _a problem.

_Shit._

The corners of his eyes crinkled, and a raspy, croaky chuckled left him. "Did you, now?"

_What? _A smart retort that had been hanging on the tip of her tongue vanished and her eyebrows furrowed. Unease filled Dani's gut to the point where nausea settled, and she made a small movement of tucking her feet underneath herself, just in case this wack job got any bright ideas, and she'd be ready to bolt. But this man — who was obviously not some stranger who decided to nap in the same ally she was — saw the movement, and amusement twinkled in his eyes and intertwined with his words.

"Why so skittish, little one? I have done nothing to insinuate that I would harm you, yet you are ready to scurry like a rabbit. Are you afraid, little rabbit?"

_Double-shit. _

Grinding her teeth together, Dani forced out, "Look around, genius. There are criminals _everywhere, _all over the streets._.._I don't know you, I don't trust you — why are you even talking to me? What do you want?" She wanted to give him attitude, she really did, but Dani also had to be cautious of how much she toed the line.

"There were criminals prowling the streets before. And to answer the latter question — perhaps I desired company." He was slightly leaned forward now, his steel-like eyes shining with something akin to curiosity, while she continued to stare at him warily.

A beat of silence. "Not interested," and silence continued.

He continued to observe her stoically, and Dani half-wished he would unwind the scarf so she could make more sense of his facial expressions. Anxiety had her heart racing and palms sweating, and her ankles were slightly aching from resting on them. Eventually, he let out a mechanical grumble, and pushed himself up with his hand on his knees, letting out a small groan as his back popped. Now, with him standing up straight and her sitting down, she could make out his build and stature.

And _shit. _Sitting down, she actually had to crane her neck just took look up at him. Now, Dani wasn't too particularly short — about 5'3, which was pretty average. But this guy had to be _at least_ 6'6, if not taller. Swallowing thickly, she asked hesitantly, "Who...who are you?"

The corners of his eyes crinkled again, and stated almost proudly:

"Gotham's reckoning."

***/*/*/***

**Shit's about to go down, son.**

**~PlaguingYourDreams**


End file.
